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Denver’s streets should be safe to walk, but pedestrian accidents happen with troubling frequency across the city, and the injuries that result are often severe. A driver striking someone on foot can cause fractures, head trauma, and other injuries that lead to mounting medical bills, lost income, and lasting emotional strain. Colorado law and insurance company tactics both apply after these collisions, and having the right legal team is important.
At Dormer Harpring, our Denver pedestrian accident lawyers have represented injured pedestrians throughout the city and understand the evidence, statutes, and insurance tactics involved in these cases. If you or a loved one was injured in a pedestrian accident, contact us at (303) 756-3812 for a free consultation. You may be eligible for financial compensation for your past and future losses.
At Dormer Harpring, our focus stays on the client, not the case file, and we make sure you have the medical care and other services you need during a difficult time. When you work with our Denver pedestrian accident lawyers, you gain the following:
We have also secured meaningful settlements for injured pedestrians and their families across Colorado, including the following examples:
Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in future matters, but that combination of experience and preparation matters because the risk pedestrians face across Denver is significant and continues to grow.
Denver’s high volume of pedestrian activity comes with real risk. According to the most recent data available from the Colorado Department of Transportation, 591 pedestrians were killed on Colorado roads between 2021 and 2025, a 36 percent increase over the previous five-year period. In 2024, 78 pedestrian fatalities occurred in the dark, accounting for 65 percent of all pedestrian deaths that year, and 81 fatalities, or 68 percent, happened outside of a marked crosswalk.
Looking at the broader trend, October and November stand out as Colorado’s deadliest months for pedestrians over the past decade, together accounting for 21.5 percent of all pedestrian fatalities between 2015 and 2024, a pattern pointing to visibility and driver attentiveness as recurring failures behind the wheel.
These numbers are not abstract to the families who live through them. A crash that takes only seconds can mean months of medical treatment, missed paychecks, and a long road to recovery. Denver’s continued growth, combined with heavier commuter and freight traffic throughout the metro area, means the risk to pedestrians is unlikely to ease on its own. Certain areas of the city also carry a higher risk than others.
Available 24/7 – Call us now at (303) 756-3812 for expert legal help. Your case matters, and we’re here to fight for you!
Certain Denver corridors account for a disproportionate share of pedestrian crashes, and recognizing them helps explain why so many claims trace back to the same stretches of road.
Dangerous intersections include:
Beyond these corridors, several road-related factors raise pedestrian risk across the city:
If you were injured at one of these locations or another dangerous stretch of road in Denver, that context can play an important role in building your case. Contact Dormer Harpring today at (303) 756-3812 to discuss what happened.
In a crash between a motor vehicle and a pedestrian, the vehicle almost always wins. The driver may walk away without a scratch, while the pedestrian may end up hospitalized with catastrophic harm. Being struck by a car can cause severe injury to nearly any part of the body, including the following:
A pedestrian often suffers injuries in stages during a single collision: the initial impact with the bumper or hood, a second impact between the head or chest and the windshield as the body folds forward, and a third impact when the pedestrian lands in the road. This layered sequence is why a Denver pedestrian accident lawyer looks closely at the full scope of harm rather than treating a crash as a single point of injury.
These layered injuries are rarely the result of chance. Driver error remains the leading cause of pedestrian collisions in Denver and across Colorado. Motorists frequently overestimate their own attentiveness, attempt to multitask while driving, or disregard traffic laws altogether, and pedestrians absorb the consequences of those mistakes.
The most common causes of pedestrian accidents in Denver include the following:
Most of these behaviors are preventable when drivers stay alert and follow Colorado’s roadway rules, and while poor crosswalk design or pedestrian error can also play a role, fault in these cases usually falls on the driver, an imbalance that Colorado law reflects directly.
Pedestrian safety in Colorado rests on a combination of state statutes and municipal codes that define how drivers and pedestrians must behave when their paths cross. Both groups carry legal duties, though pedestrians remain the more vulnerable party in nearly every interaction, which is why their rights receive close attention under state law.
Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 42-4-802, drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing within a marked or unmarked crosswalk, slowing or stopping as needed. Pedestrians in Denver and across the state carry several specific protections, including the following:
These protections form the legal baseline that drivers are expected to meet in every interaction with a pedestrian.
Pedestrians also carry responsibilities of their own, and following them both supports safety and preserves the strength of a future injury claim. Pedestrians in Colorado are expected to:
Meeting these responsibilities strengthens a pedestrian’s position if a crash later leads to a legal claim.
Drivers carry the heavier share of the legal duty. Motorists must:
Failing to meet these duties can create significant legal exposure once a crash occurs.
Determining liability for a pedestrian accident starts with the state’s fault law. Colorado follows a fault-based system, meaning the person who caused the collision is responsible for paying for the resulting injuries and losses, rather than each party turning to their own insurer regardless of fault.
Depending on the facts of the crash, liability for a pedestrian accident could fall on:
Colorado also follows a modified comparative negligence framework under Colorado Revised Statutes § 13-21-111. An injured pedestrian can still recover damages as long as their share of fault is 50 percent or less, though any compensation awarded is reduced in proportion to that share, and a fault share above 50 percent bars recovery entirely. Exactly which party bears responsibility, and to what degree, depends on the specific facts of the crash, which is why a Denver pedestrian accident lawyer typically investigates the scene, gathers evidence, and identifies every liable party before a claim is filed.
In some cases, a hazard contributes to a crash without a driver being directly at fault, such as a sidewalk defect, a missing pedestrian crossing, or a malfunctioning traffic signal. When one of these conditions plays a role, the State of Colorado or another government agency may be liable for failing to maintain safe road conditions.
Our team at Dormer Harpring conducts a comprehensive investigation into every accident we take on, and depending on what that investigation uncovers, liability may also extend to:
A thorough investigation into every possible source of liability often makes the difference in the final value of a claim.
Because pedestrians have no structural protection between their bodies and an oncoming vehicle, the resulting injuries tend to be severe, and the compensation available typically reflects that severity.
Recoverable damages may include:
None of this compensation arrives automatically. The value of a claim depends heavily on how well each of these losses is documented from the start, and on whether every category of harm, not just the most obvious medical bills, is accounted for before a settlement is reached.
The actions taken immediately after a pedestrian accident can shape the strength of the resulting claim. Evidence disappears quickly, memories fade, and insurance companies begin building their version of events almost right away.
The following steps can help protect both your health and your claim:
A prompt, well-documented response gives your attorney more to work with when negotiations or litigation begin, and it limits the opportunities an insurance company has to dispute what happened.
These steps help preserve a claim in the short term, but a separate legal deadline governs whether that claim can be filed at all. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 13-80-101, you must generally file personal injury claims arising from a motor vehicle collision, including pedestrian accidents, within three years from the date of the crash.
However, a handful of circumstances can affect that deadline. Claims against a government entity, such as the City of Denver, require a formal notice of claim within a much shorter window than the standard filing period, and the three-year period may pause in limited situations, such as when the injured person is a minor or when the cause of the injury was not reasonably discoverable right away. These exceptions are narrow and should never be assumed without legal guidance, since applying them incorrectly can cost an otherwise valid claim its filing window.
The best outcome is still avoiding a crash in the first place. While you cannot control drivers’ actions, staying alert while walking or jogging in Denver and across Colorado can help reduce your risk. A few practical habits make a difference:
Even the most cautious pedestrian can still become the victim of a negligent or reckless driver. If you have been hit by a car in Denver, you have rights, and understanding them is the first step toward recovery.
Dormer Harpring is ready to review your case and explain your options after a pedestrian accident. From gathering evidence to negotiating with insurance companies, our team handles the details so you can focus on your recovery. We work on a contingency fee basis, so you owe us nothing in attorney fees unless we win. Call (303) 756-3812 for a free consultation with a Denver pedestrian accident lawyer.
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Our dedicated attorneys at Dormer Harpring provide compassionate and aggressive representation for clients facing rideshare accident claims in Denver. Our firm is conveniently located at 3457 Ringsby Ct Unit 110, Denver, CO 80216, United States. Find us with our GeoCoordinates: 39.7726247, -104.9820183.
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Sean Dormer has built his career on standing up to powerful corporations and insurance companies to get justice for the injured. With a relentless trial-focused approach, he has secured multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements for clients who were turned away by other firms. His expertise has led him to speak at statewide legal conferences and advocate for fairer personal injury laws in Colorado.
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Yes, as long as your share of fault is 50 percent or less. Your compensation is reduced based on your percentage of fault, but if you are more than 50 percent at fault, you cannot recover anything.
You may still recover compensation through your own insurance policy. Uninsured motorist coverage often applies when a driver flees the scene and cannot be identified, and Colorado insurers are required to offer this coverage as part of a standard auto policy. Reporting the crash to law enforcement right away improves the chances of identifying the driver later.
The value depends on the severity of your injuries, your medical costs, and how clearly fault can be established. More severe injuries generally involve higher medical expenses and higher lost income, both of which factor into the total value of a claim. A Denver pedestrian accident lawyer can review the specifics of your case to give you a clearer picture of what it may be worth.
Most claims resolve within several months to a year, though serious injury cases can take longer. Cases with clear fault and stable injuries tend to move faster, while disputed liability or catastrophic injuries often require additional time to reach a fair resolution.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney, K.C. Harpring, a Denver personal injury attorney with extensive legal expertise.
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